Arms open wide, Florence Quigley approaches beginners who come for square dancing lessons.
Yellow rock. It’s the first thing you need to know about square dancing, she says, hugging her new dance partner.
For the past 26 years, Quigley, of Loudonville, has been do-si-do-ing with the Latham Circle Squares, a dance club that specializes in square and ballroom dancing. The group celebrated its 50th anniversary with a dinner and dance Sunday, May 4.
The Latham Circle Squares was founded by now-91-year-old Frank Wermert, of Colonie, and Paul Witbeck, who died a few years ago. He and Witbeck, and their partners, Peg Witbeck and Eleanor Wermert, started the group because they thought it would be something people could get together and enjoy, he said.
The couples got together to dance at the Old Calvary Methodist Hall on Old Loudon Road, where each couple was asked to bring four more couples to participate. The first dance, in 1958, was so successful that the club went on to meet regularly, now twice a month.
The group has since grown to include several clubs that hail from various parts of the Capital District and beyond, according to Quigley, vice president of the group.
`We have some people here from Vermont. Some come from Massachusetts,` she said.
The group dances to two different styles; ballroom and square. However, while members must know how to square dance to be in the group, they do not need to know ballroom dancing.
According to one member from the Latham chapter, interested participants attend a `Fun Day,` which is a free demonstration and lesson, so they can see what it is all about. After that, if they want to be a part of the group, they are required to take 25-30 lessons before they can join.
Donna Parslow, one of the group’s presidents, said that lessons are around $5 per couple. The annual membership fee, once in the club, is $25 per couple, she said.
To be a part of the Latham Circle Squares, there is no age restriction, according to Quigley. `We have one dancer who’s 14,` she said. According to Quigley, there are many reasons why square dancing appeals to people of all ages.
One of those reasons was echoed consistently all night long at Sunday’s dinner celebration: Square dancing, according to Quigley and many others, is an excellent form of exercise.
Pearl Albrechtsen, 71, of Schenectady, said she considers square dancing an easy and fun way to work the body’s muscles.
`It’s good folks, good fellowship and more fun than aerobics,` she said.
Albrechtsen had learned about the group through a singles add in a local newspaper.
`I’ve been square dancing in the club for about seven years,` she said.
While Albrechtsen has now gained experience in square dancing, she said she does not know how to ballroom dance, though she enjoys watching others in the club do it.
A key element of the dances, Quigley said, is the people who lead the dances, known as `callers` and `cuers.`
The caller, Don Batchelder at Sunday’s dinner, is the person who calls the directions and actions of the dancers during a square dance, while the cuer, regular club-cuer Dolores Randall, provides directions for ballroom dancers during the dance form known as `rounds.`
The dance form of traditional square dancing is referred to as `squares.`
Jim Landau, 81, and his wife, Helen, are well-versed in both rounds and squares, though they said they prefer squares.
`We’ve been at this for 32 years,` he said.
Landau also said they were introduced to square dancing after he and his wife came to a `Fun Night` 32 years ago when they were looking for something exciting to do together.
Members of the clubs are at different skill levels, according to Quigley, who says she is at a phase four skill level out of seven.
`I almost made it up to a five once,` she said.
Quigley said the skill levels encompass elements of several different forms of dance, including tangos and waltzes, which are weaved into the squares and rounds.
Quigley said square dancing has introduced her to new cultures.
`I danced with three couples in Canada that were Japanese,` she said. `They never skipped a step.`
Quigley said the Latham Circle Squares is one of the oldest clubs in the area.
Members of the group said they are happy to celebrate 50 years and hope to continue with the same success.
The Latham Circle Squares dances at the Colonie Town Hall the second and fourth Friday of the month.
For information, call 783-7071.
“